Dumping-car



A. BECKERT 86 W. B UDLOW.

Patented Nov. 20, 1883.

' 5 Sheets-Sheet 2.

A. BEOKERT & W. E. LUDLOW.

' DUMPING CAR.

No. 288,760. Patented Nov. 20, 1883.

(No Model.)

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(No Model.) 5 SheetsSheet 3. A. BEOKERT & W. E. LUDLOW.

DUMPING GAR.

, Patented Nov, 20, 1883 M Patna MUIBWL Washington. D. C-

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A. 'BEOKERT & W. E. LUDLOW.

DDDDDDDDDD No. 288,760. Patented Nev. 20, 1883.

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A. BEGKERT 88W; E. LUDLOW.

DUMPING GAR. No. 288,760. PatenteiNbv. 20, 1883.

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UNrrED STATES PATENT @rrrcs.

ANDREW' BECKERT AND \VILLIAM E. LUDLO W, OF SANDUSKY, OHIO.

DUMPlNG-CAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 288,760, dated November 20, 1883.

(No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, Anionnw BECKERT and WILLIAM EDGAR LUDLow, citizens of the United States, residing at Sandusky, in the county of Erie and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Side-Dump Cars; and we do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our invention relates to side-dump cars. The great objection to this class of cars is that they cannot be used for ordinary freight, as they are unprovided with a flat floor.

The object of our invention is to produce a car that is adapted to be used either as a dump or ordinary freight car, and it will be obvious from the following description that the device is applicable to box as well as the open cars.

The invention consists of constructions and combinations, all as will hereinafter, be described, whereby the objects are accomplished. It also consists of minor details, which will be fully described and claimed.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1represents a perspective of the bottom and side of the car; Fig. 2, an end elevation; Fig. 3, a section on line a: m, Fig. 4; Fig. 4, a bottom plan, looking at the under side; Fig. 5, a longitudinal section of part of the car; Fig. 6', a detail view of the cam and its connecting parts, and Fig. T a detail of one of the corners of the car.

A represents the bottom of the car, which bottom may be made of wood or iron; B, the sides, and G the ends. The bottom A is provided with the usual appliances attached to cars, as shown in Fig. 1. The flooring ofthe bottom is divided. longitudinally into two parts,

A A, which are hinged to a middle longitudinal piece, A. The side edges of parts A A are provided with notches a, which embrace the u rights of thesides, so that the edges of the floor will be in close contact with the inner wall of the sides. The ends of the middle piece, A", project into a recess, 0, in the end pieces, 0, which recess serves as a guide for the floor, and holds the middle piece in the same vertical plane when the floor is moved. The under side of the middle piece is concaved or recessed at A, to afford bearings for the cams A which, when moved upwardly or downwardly, respectively raise or lower the floor. The cams are each fixed to a shaft, (6'', journaled to thelongitudinal beams in the mid dle of the car. Upon one end of each shaft is a cog-wheel, A, which gears with a worm, A, formed at different points on a longitudinal shaft, A This shaft is journaledin all the cross-beams and projects beyond the beams which form the ends of the frame. Upon one end is fixed a ratchetwheel, a, having a reveisible pawl, L, so that the shaft can be turned in either direction. It is obvious that a pawl could be placed on each end for the same purpose. hen the shaft is revolved in one direction, the worm A turns the cog-wheels A on the shaft (5, which elevate the cams A into the recesses or concavities A and cause the middle part of the floor to rise. The inner edges of parts A A will rise with the part A but the outer edges, owing to the fact that the parts A A are hinged to part A, will remain upon the bottom, as shown in Fig. 3. To prevent the floor, when elevated, from dumping part of its load through the bottom of the car, stationary continuations of the former are formed by attaching inclined strips A to the bottom beams of the side and the lateral beams of the floor-support, as shown in Fig. 3. When the floor is lying fiat, these strips are covered to the side of the cars, and when elevated they form a continuation of the fioor, so that the dirt will slide outside of the car when the latter is relieved of its contents.

The sides B of the car are formed of bottom beams, B, having uprights I), attached in the usual manner, top beams, 13*, and doors B which are hinged by their upper ends to beams B At the lower corners of the doors are projections b, for the purpose of receiving the loops I). These project-ion, when formed on the corners next to a door, may be continuous with the projection on the latter, as shown in Fig. 1. The loops Z1 are 'formedupon the end of rods 13*, which project through openings in the lower end of uprights by and have their inner ends connected to chains B, which are attached to grooved drums B on a longitudinal shaft, B, journaled in the cross-beams of bottom A. It is obvious that the rods 13* can be dispensed with if the chain be run to the door. Upon each end of this shaft is a sprocket-wheel, D, having a sprocket-chain,

So I

D, which engages with a sprocket-wheel, D, I

attached'to each platform of the car by means of a standard, D". As shown in Fig. 2, one or both of these wheels D may be provided with a capstan-head, D, and a spring-brake or pawl, D (Shown in Fig. 2.) By unloosening the brake D the loadis free to force open the side doors and pass out the car. By turning the capstan-head in either direction, when the chains are unloosened, the chains are wound on the grooved drums B, and draw the doors by means of rods B against the side of the car. The sides are strengthened by means of re movable braces 0, having hooks 6 attached to eyes e on the sides of the car. The end braces project through the sides, and are provided with screw-threaded ends 6', upon which the lever clamp-nuts e are attached. Between the ends of the sides are 'end pieces, 0, hinged or detachably connected by their lower end to the frame of the bottom. By unloosening the rods E and e the ends may be dropped upon the fioor or be removed, as desired, so that a load can be put upon the car at either end. This is also a desirable feature when the load consists of pieces longer than the car, as their sired, the upper ends may be left open, so that it will not clog up. In such a case, however,

a suitable stop may be used to prevent the part A being lifted out by the cams A 'With the parts in the position shown in Fig.

I 1, and the car loaded, the operation of the device is as follows: The brake D is withdrawn from contact with the capstan-head D, leaving the shaft B free to revolve. The load in the car will force the doors open. The strain upon the rods B will draw the chains outwardly from the loose shaft 13. lVhen the greater part of the load has fallen out, the floor is elevated by revolving shaft A which communicates motion to cams A", through worm A cog-wheel A, and shaft a The cams move against the recesses or cavities and force the middle part of the floor upwardly, so that the remainder of the load will slide down the inclined part of the floor and out of the car. The doors are then drawn back into place by winding the chains upon the drums B 011 the longitudinal shaft, and made fast by means of the brake D If desired, the floor may remain elevated and the load placed upon it; or it may be lowered bymeans heretofore described.

It is obvious that a box-car can be made in substantially the same manner as this open car by making hanging doors in the side, or having the whole side act as a single door, held in place by the means above described. If desired, the lower longitudinal half may be divided into doors hinged to the upper half, or the whole lower longitudinal half be made to serve as a single door. When a box-car is made in this way, the usual side door may be formed in any suitable manner.

' When the doors of the car are held tight and the floor is level, the car may be used for ordi-' nary freight. If the clam p-rods E are removed, the ends and sides may be taken out and the ordinary flat-car will remain.

It can readily be seen that this car presents advantages over any other car now known.

If desired, the doors may be hinged to the lower part of the side and act as a continuation of the tilted floor; but we prefer to hang them to the upper part, as in such position there is no liability of their being clogged by I the substance dumped from the car.

We are aware that platform-cars have been made of sections hinged longitudinally and provided with means for elevating said sections, and that cars having swinging doors and tilting floors are old. Both of these devices differ from ours, in that neither can be alternately used as a fiat-bottom and an inclinedbottom car.

What we claim as new is- 1. In a car, the combination of a platform, removable sides having eyes upon their inner sides, braces having hooks inserted in said eyes, removable ends, and rods extending through and clamped to the sides of the car and holding the ends in place, substantially as described.

2. In a car, the combination of the sides having swinging doors, a bottom formed in sections hinged together and adapted to be elevated at the longitudinal median line to form inclined planes, and means, substantially as described, for raising, lowering, and fixing the floor in the position, for the purpose set forth.

3. In a car, the combination of the sides having swinging doors, a bottom formed of three longitudinal sections hinged together, and means, substantially as described, for elevating the middle section and incliningthe side sections, for the purpose set forth.

4. In a car, the combination of swinging doors in the side, a revoluble shaft below the bottom of the car and having drums, chains wholly outside the car and out of the way of I the material dumped, and connecting the bot tom of the doors and the drums, and means, substantially as described, for revolving said shaft.

5. In a car, the combination of swinging doors, a revolving shaft having sprocketwheels on each end and drums placed at intervals thereon, chains connecting said doors and drums, and a shaft above each end of the revolving shaft, and having sprocket-wheels con nected to the sprocket-wheels of said revolving shaft, for the purpose set forth.

6. In a car, the combination of swinging doors B shaft B", having drums B and sprocket-wheels D, chains connecting the doors and drums, and sprocket-wheels D by sprocket chain D, and having a capstan, D, and brake D substantially as described.

7. I11 a car, the combination of a revolving shaft having a sprocket-wheel, a sprocketwheel supported from the base by a standard,

and having a shaft provided with a capstan,

and a spring-brake attached to the platform of the car and in contact with the capstan, substantially as described.

8. In a car, the combination of a tilting floor having a recessed central part, a cam in contact with said recess and having a cog-wheel, and a revolving shaft having a Worm gearing with said cog-wheel, substantially as described. 

